


The Sun Is Always Shining Somewhere.

by Luna_sharp618



Category: Black Panther (2018), Doctor Strange (2016)
Genre: Drowning, Fluff with Feels, Graphic Description, M/M, Nightmares, ultimate sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 05:34:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_sharp618/pseuds/Luna_sharp618
Summary: So I heard that it was the anniversary of Stephen's car crash and I thought some angst was the best way to process that information.





	The Sun Is Always Shining Somewhere.

Darkness. 

Inky, black, suffocating darkness. It chokes out his airways and fills his vision as he tries to scream out for help from anyone that will listen. To anyone that would be able to pull him free from the chilled grasp of this unforgiving tar that forces him deeper and deeper into the depths of unbreathable bubbles and gloom.

Slivers of forked light spasms across the sky, or perhaps it’s the ground, or perhaps it’s just insanity. The forceful patter of rain thunders in his water logged ears as his body shrieks in unbridled agony, praying to any entity that he doesn’t really believe in to give him a second chance. He promises to repent, to love, to forgive to do anything that could possibly save him from the roaring in his ears and the agonising burn that throttles his lungs like chains of molten iron that just won’t relinquish their grip, squeezing the very life out of him, right down to the very last bubble of inky soul. 

The light rips overhead, or perhaps underneath or perhaps not at all, once again, shaking him to his very core as the pain becomes to much and the darkness becomes too bright and everything is just so painful. He can’t tell if his eyes are wide open or if he’s squeezing them as hard as he fucking can to escape the echo of his own garbled screams, muffled by the liquid that plagues him. He can't move his hands. He can’t feel his hands. They are just numb lumps of flesh hanging limply upon his wrists, completely shrouded by the darkness that wrestles against him. 

Voices murmur to him and lights drown him and pain encases him and-and-and-

He awakes with a sudden jolt. 

He’s in his house. In his bedroom. In his bed. Chest heaving and hands cramping in uneasy spasms. A sickly chill clings to his sweat laden skin that croons a story of the harsh reality he has jumped back into. To his right the mattress dips as Everett stirs fitfully beside him, subconsciously feeling Stephen’s plight and tenderly moving closer to his husband through the deep drag of his ironically sweet slumber. 

Stephen looks over to him, unfiltered moonlight streaking over his lax expression, instantly pulling him from the icy clutches of a post-nightmare panic attack. His heart still beats in his chest as the details of heavy rain and thunderous rolls of lightning still splatter against his rattled mind. 

Scarred fingers twitch restlessly where they lay, spamming across the glide of their duvet, a complete juxtaposition to where they were mercilessly trapped moments ago, deep in the darker corners of Stephen’s mind. The duvet is the heavy quilted one they picked together after the old one had caught fire- he’s still not sure how that happened, he was certain to keep the candles out of harm's way. Everett had specifically wanted this one because of the colour. Not the price or the quality but the colour. That was his prized perception of worth.   
The duvet is blue. The bluest blue they could find. Not blue like the rippling ocean or the sky just after a greatly needed thunderstorm temper-tantrum. Blue like Stephen’s eyes. ‘The most precious sapphire I could ever look at’, those were Everett’s words the moment it had been settled down upon the mattress. 

A shy smile tugs at the corners of his mouth, dragging him out of the suffocating illusion of the smothering water that tried to kill him years ago. All those years ago when he had been foolish and headstrong and so alone. He was such a stubborn asshole, always trading power for the gamble of a life. Not his life of course. It is always so much easier to show off and bask in the warm glow of approval when it’s another person who had to risk their life.

That is until the universe decided to gamble with his. 

It was only by extreme humility that the unexplained forces of the universe had decided to set back his judgement day to a date unknown just so he could live in this moonlit moment. So he could drink in the sight of his silver haired lover asleep by his side, with his nose crinkled and lip wet with idle drool.

The comforting hug of his ring acts as a weighted anchor for him to remain stuck in the moment as his hands finally begin to cease their pained twitching. His rapid breaths finally stabilise into a steady rhythm of in and out, up and down, relax and surrender. 

In the pale light he settles into the cushion of the feathered pillow, allowing himself to take down his walls of protection to just breathe. To re-group. To just see and feel the time slip around him like endless grains of tender sand, combing through his hair, dragging across his skin, sinking a against the erratic beat of his heart. 

He is so lucky to be alive. 

He is so lucky to be alive and be loved. 

He is so lucky to be alive and be loved by the most wonderful human in the entire galaxy. 

For the path he was pushed onto all those years ago broke his mind and destroyed his hands, tore apart his life and tossed him off a cliff for good measure. It was his lesson that he had to learn while being pelted left, right and centre with trials and challenges of every kind. Love. loss. Regrets. Responsibilities. All the things he had tried to paint over with as much money his past life could reap. All the things his new path had drowned him with until he learned to swim with the tide. Not fight it. 

He’s not fighting the flood ever again. 

He was so alone and so angry for so long that he felt no warmth from the new magic the universe had provided. The new friendships and reconstructed bridges brought no joy. He was loveless and unlovable for so long that he was a shell of a man, using magic to fill his damaged soul like that of a leech, parasitic upon the flow of magic but never satisfied. 

Never whole. 

That is when the universe took another loaded gamble upon his soul, letting the odds mercifully lean to his favour, rewarding him a flame of sunlight to warm him. To complete him. To be the final piece to allow the circuit of life in Stephen to finally function. 

Everett is his sunshine. It glows through his skin. Penetrates the darkness with his golden smile, his eyes glinting with bright intelligence and comforting warmth. He is like no other. Out of all the broken hearts that wane mournfully after him like a sick treasure trail, Everett is the only one to survive the sharpness of Stephen’s words and emerge unhurt. The only one strong enough to deflect the darkness that clouds him and disperse it into something new. Something new and wonderful. He is the one brave enough to finally pull every bottled sensation out of him in a glorious thunderstorm, illuminating their lives with all the things he never knew he could feel. 

Here in this moment, a thunderstorm of emotion rages once more, trapped like lightning in a bottle within his aching body. 

But he knows he can weather it, this storm of past and present. He knows he can wade through it’s rippling waves and come out on the other side with merely a tale to tell and perhaps a new battle scar, because he already knows the sunshine will be waiting for him. Everyday he wakes up and every night he goes to sleep, the sunshine will be there, trapped in Everett’s smile, beaming down upon him. 

In the pale moonlight, the sun still faintly warms him where Everett sleepily reaches out and paws at his skin, pushing away the chilled grasp of the midnight air, telling him everything is going to be OK.

The sun will always be shining as long as they have each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, this was just a quick one shot derived out of boredom and some inspirational nudging by the brilliant Thrilmalia and I hope you enjoyed it. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated XXX


End file.
